Calkins: Some Hall of Fame voters are as guilty as players

Mindlessly condemning players from Steroid Era solves nothing

FILE - In this July 19, 2007, file photo, San Francisco Giants' Barry Bonds hits a three-run home run during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs in Chicago. With the cloud of steroids shrouding the candidacies of Bonds, Roger Clemens and others, baseball writers on Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013, might not elect anyone to the Hall of Fame for only the second time in four decades. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green, File)
— AP

FILE - In this July 19, 2007, file photo, San Francisco Giants' Barry Bonds hits a three-run home run during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs in Chicago. With the cloud of steroids shrouding the candidacies of Bonds, Roger Clemens and others, baseball writers on Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013, might not elect anyone to the Hall of Fame for only the second time in four decades. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green, File)
/ AP

Don’t cheat, the writers say. But they have no problem cheating players.

Fair ball, the voters preach. Even though their logic is 50 feet foul.

The Baseball Writers Association of America sent a message Wednesday afternoon, refusing to elect a player to the Hall of Fame for the first time since 1996. And while there have been years where the voting percentages were lower – the voters’ horse has never been higher.

There is a term for assuming something about someone because he or she shares similarities with a certain group. It’s called profiling. And in this country, few acts draw a bigger stigma.

Yet in reviewing the Hall of Fame election results, it’s clear that a significant number of writers engaged in that very practice.

Yes, this year’s ballot was headlined by the Mt. Rushmore of the Steroid Era: Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Roger Clemens. And if those four, along with any other known juicers, are permanently denied entrance to Cooperstown, it will be every bit within the bounds of justice.

What isn’t fair, however, is to sentence the non-convicted. Those claiming “guilt by association” are themselves guilty of prejudice.

Now, it is entirely possible that every player voted down this year had used performance-enhancing drugs at some point. They were as condoned as chew and sunflower seeds during that time, and used by guys such as Neifi Perez, who hit all of 64 home runs in his 11-year career.

But until the proof is presented and the misconduct confirmed, writers are obligated to vote on merit alone.

And if that were the case with this year’s election, there is no way Mike Piazza – bar none the greatest offensive catcher ever – is rebuffed. There would be no explanation as to how Craig Biggio – a second baseman with 3,060 hits, 414 stolen bases, the fifth most doubles in history, and a WAR better than Roberto Alomar – gets denied.

There is no chance whatsoever that Jeff Bagwell – whose average of .297, home-run total of 449, and RBI count of 1,529 – is stiff-armed in his third year of eligibility. To ignore these numbers simply because of the age in which they were recorded speaks to another PED – performance-erasing discrimination.

Even Hall of Fame pitcher Goose Gossage, whose contempt toward steroid users is so strong that he said he’d never return to Cooperstown if one were inducted, agreed that innocence should be presumed when evidence is sparse. But the former closer added that if the guilty are admitted to the HOF, their plaque should be removed immediately if caught.

“If you get busted for cheating on a test, you get expelled. This is the last paddle for their (behinds). If they get caught, they should be treated like Lance Armstrong, who was stripped of all seven of his Tour de France titles,” Gossage said. “Let these guys who did do steroids think about when the hammer is going to fall.”

Some argue that players such as Bonds and Clemens were well on their way to Hall of Fame careers before they turned to PEDs and should eventually be inducted as a result. No way. If lapses in morality were enough to keep Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson out of Cooperstown, Barry’s and Roger’s commitment to cheating should be just as damning.

Others contend that all of the Steroid Era front men, including McGwire and Sosa, should be in the Hall of Fame – just with the PED information on their plaques – or else an entire generation vanishes from Cooperstown. Well…who cares if it vanishes? History is riddled with black spots and regrettable periods. It doesn’t mean people will forget about the steroid age, it just means its abusers won’t be enshrined

As is the case with cops, or lawyers, or teachers, or journalists, baseball has both its sinful and virtuous. And while suspicion will always shroud great players from the PED era, they cannot be recklessly condemned.

Before casting their ballots, writers are supposed to look at a player's record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which he played.